Minecraft movie being crafted by Warner Bros.

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When discussing movies here at Geek HQ — almost exclusively Guardians of the Galaxy lately — the merits of doing a Minecraft movie have occasionally been brought up. The general consensus was that kind of movie would only work if done in the style of the recent Lego Movie, our overwhelming feelings for which we’ve made known. Well, it turns out Warner Bros. is developing a Minecraft movie and — surprise — it’s being produced by Roy Lee, who produced The Lego Movie.

Unlike The Lego Movie, though, the Minecraft movie will be a live-action version, rather than a fully animated production. This could be troublesome, as the only way a Minecraft movie would conceivably work is if it were a lighthearted, cartoonish affair where the inherent wackiness of Mojang’s blocky world is believable. If not handled similarly to The Lego Movie, Mojang’s vehicle could end up like the Super Mario Bros. movie, which — regardless of how you feel about it now that you’re an adult who finds it funny and charming — was a financial and critical flop .

In just three weeks since being released, The Lego Movie has grossed nearly $300 million worldwide. Minecraft is regularly referred to as a vast virtual Lego set, so perhaps the success of Lego film inspired Warner Bros. to milk that out of Minecraft as well. The live-action detail, though, is a little concerning, as Minecraft doesn’t have a true main character (every player controls “Steve,” a funny name to give to a nondescript block dude) or a (canonical) narrative of which to speak.

There are no details regarding the movie, and just because real, live people are attached to the project doesn’t mean it won’t get stuck in development hell. However, Minecraft is a phenomena, a worldwide success, and it could financially succeed based on the enormous popularity of the franchise alone.